We are Eastern Rite
Catholics in union with the Pope, the Bishop of Rome. Thus, we
are a Catholic Church and we share the same faith, beliefs and
sacraments as the Latin Rite. All Catholics who attend the
Divine Liturgy (Mass) with us fulfill their Holy Day and
Sunday obligations as they do in their own churches, but also
experience the rich traditions of the East.
Being Eastern
Catholics, we have our own way of expressing our faith:
through a Liturgy enriched by our customs and traditions. Our
Liturgy is chanted in English but there is some us e of the
original Church Slavonic. We believe that we are called to
become partakers of the “Divine Nature” (2 Peter 1:4); more
than “being saved” from hell and sin. We view ourselves as
invited to live in the very life of God; to become intimately
related to Him, to be physically united to Him, and have the
Holy Spirit live in us!
As the disciples brought the
Gospel to the far reaches of the known world, their followers
adapted ceremonies of the Liturgy to the customs and music of
the local people. Four great centers of Christianity emerged.
They were Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome and Alexandria each with
distinctive Christian customs, but the same Faith. When the
capital of the pagan Roman Empire was moved to the Eastern
City of Byzantium by the Emperor Constantine the Great, the
city became known as Constantinople. The Antiochian Liturgy
was adapted, and a new center of Christianity arose - the
Byzantine Catholic Church, also known as the Eastern Church.
From Constantinople, the Slavic peoples of Eastern Europe were
converted by Saints Cyril and Methodius to become Eastern
Christians. Over the years, the traditions of different
Churches emerged based on ethnic background of their people
and today Eastern Catholics are subdivided into 30
ecclesiastical jurisdictions. The jurisdiction for Holy Spirit
is that of the Ruthenians, a group of people who lived at the
base of the Carpathian Mountains, covering a large area
between former Czechoslovakia, Romania and Poland. When the
people from these ethnic groups migrated to the United States
they brought their culturally rich faith with them. Over 1
million Byzantine Catholics live in the United States, with
over 200,000 belonging to the Ruthenian Rite. Our Church is in
the Eparchy (Diocese) of Parma, Ohio, and is open to people of
all backgrounds. We keep alive many of the Slavic traditions
such as Easter Basket Blessing, egg decorating, blessing of
vehicles, homes, flowers, fruit, candles and Holy water on
special feast days. |
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Descent of the Holy Spirit
Metropolia of Pittsburgh
Eparchy of Parma
Eparchy of Passaic
Eparchy of Phoenix
Byzantine Catholic Seminary
Christ The Bridgegroom Blog
Wooden Churches
Eastern Christian Media
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